Ephesians 5: 22-33

Introduction to the Passage
The book of Ephesians both celebrates the blessings of God’s grace and explains what that grace means for the church. Throughout the book, Paul reminds the church of the sacrificial love of Jesus and encourages believers to be imitators of God. In Ephesians 5:22-33, Paul uses the comparison of the marriage relationship with that of Christ and His church to give guidance to husbands, wives, and the church as the body of Christ, instructing them in living a Spirit-filled life. Repeatedly reminding his audience of the “cosmic scale of Christ’s reconciling work,” Paul’s letter continues to encourage believers today and challenge the church to seek the unity “that Christ purchased and that the Spirit produced.” The
Immediately preceding his words on wives and husbands, Paul implores his audience to “be filled with the Spirit” and, as a result, address one another in psalms and hymns, sing and make melody to the Lord, give thanks for everything, and, finally, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ (Eph. 5:18-21). Ephesians 5:21 both concludes the previous section of the letter and introduces the section on marriage: “Submit to one another out of reverence of Christ.” This verse is important because it sets up the attitude required for the following verses. When Paul calls for believers to submit to one another in Ephesians 5:21 he gives a clear reason for doing so - we are to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. The word used here, reverence, could also be translated as “fear” from the Greek word phobos. In this context, the fear Paul speaks of “implies the disposition to obey and attend to one of higher authority.” When Paul says for wives to submit to their husbands in Ephesians 5:22, they are to do so “as to the Lord.” This modifying clause is not to characterize husbands as level to Christ, but rather to remind the audience why obeying the call for submission – or why obeying any biblical request – is necessary; Spirit-filled believers should seek obedience out of reverence for
This union between husband and wives reflects back to the analogy of Christ and the church; just as Jesus cares for his body, the church, so should husbands. Paul tells his audience that Christ “nourishes and cherishes” the church (Eph. 5:29) and implies that this care of the church is “as natural, normal, and uncoerced as humans’ care for their own bodies.” Then, in Ephesians 5:30, Paul gives the reason why husbands should love their wives in this way - just as wives submit out of reverence for Christ as part of the Spirit-filled body of Christ (“as to the Lord” in Eph. 5:22), so should husbands love as “members of [Christ’s]